Blue Crush
by Failure Turtle
Summary: They say you have to love yourself before you can love someone else. He loved her, and she hated herself. He was going to make her love herself again so she could love him. And how he wanted her to love him...JeffxMaria.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I hate hate HATE JeffxMaria, but this is the only couple that would make sense for this. The only other option was JohnxMaria, but hell the fuck no.**

**Blame my impeding single-dom and the boys making fun of me at work for this one.**

**Happy 100****th**** story.**

She thought she could escape her troubles. Every relationship she ever had was doomed to fail miserably.

She thought that RAW was a safe haven for her. She had great friends in Mickie, Candice, and Melina. She had fabulous brother types like John Cena, Jeff Hardy, and Ken Kennedy.

But it was the night of the draft that changed it all for Maria.

When CM Punk was drafted to RAW, Maria felt numb. Once again, she would be working side by side with the one man that had shattered her confidence ever so greatly. Was it possible to steal the confidence of a gorgeous woman and Playboy cover girl? If it was, it was CM Punk's greatest accomplishment that he was _very_ proud of. He boasted his newfound single lifestyle and lived it to the fullest, taking out a new girl every night. But in all honesty, what guy wouldn't?

Still it tore Maria up. No, she didn't care about him anymore, but it still hurt to see someone she cared so deeply for just running around having fun. Her blood boiled even thinking about the person who hurt her the most.

This was certainly going to be a distraction.

And when Jeff and Kennedy were sent to SmackDown, the pain only increased. Two of her best friends would no longer be backstage with her. She'd see them once a month at the pay per view, and maybe once more if she was lucky.

Luck was never on the side of Maria Kanellis.

She was dreading the time she would have to spend with Punk. Granted, they wouldn't really be spending that time _together_, per se. He would be spending it with random women while she was feeling sorry for the poor girl…and herself.

But then, a ray of shining hope laid it's sheen on Maria's life. As luck would have it, she wouldn't have to spend her days missing her friends and worrying about her past on RAW.

She was drafted to SmackDown the next day. She could be with Jeff and Ken. She could make new friends.

But Maria's shattered confidence got to her conscience. This wasn't her home. She didn't know everyone on SmackDown. What if they didn't like her? What if she couldn't make friends? What if Jeff and Ken changed and wouldn't talk to her anymore?

Right now, Maria was feeling like a loser. She was missing the confident butterfly that she used to be.

Things have to get worse before they get better, and Maria was no stranger to that notion. And by the way things were going, it looked as if she would have to live through that again.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Seeing Maria last night just made me not like her even more. She was all…not Maria. And the heels carried the entire match, by the way. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it on Friday night.**

It kept getting worse and worse. Sure, she wouldn't be jobbing to Beth Phoenix and Jillian Hall every week. Didn't one of the more popular Divas deserve to win a match every once and a while? Of course, she wasn't as physically strong as the other girls, and most of the heel Divas had more wrestling skills than Maria did. The only person that she could see herself getting a certifiable win over was Layla, but she had just come onto the RAW roster as Maria left. Maria was optimistic about the competition on SmackDown for about five minutes. She remembered that SmackDown was home to Natalya, one of the most naturally gifted female wrestlers ever, and Victoria, a seasoned veteran. Not to mention Michelle McCool, who wasn't exactly the best record, but her bedroom credentials allowed her to win matches and become the first ever Divas Champion. It suited her well, Maria thought. A title with no value deserved a champion with no value, and Maria would prefer it if she wasn't associated with that belt.

* * *

Jeff Hardy was no stranger to heartbreak, either. He was soaring on top of the world. He was slated to win the WWE Championship. Things were going great.

Everyone knew the story. It didn't need any more retelling. That and the fact that his longtime girlfriend left him because things became too "difficult" for her, Jeff was on a downward spiral. And if he wasn't careful…

Three strikes, and you're out.

A fresh start on SmackDown? Well, not really.

He still had the power obsessed Triple H hovering above him. Triple H feared young people more talented than he, but he knew that power _always_ beat out talent in the WWE.

How long would it be before he got another taste of gold? He didn't know. He assumed that creative would shove the Hardy Boyz down the throats of the WWE Universe for the umpteenth time. Either that, or his second strike would entail him to the doom of being the United States Championship mid-carder for eternity.

On his SmackDown debut, he was shockingly booked to beat John Morrison. Even that surprised Jeff since creative was very high on John Morrison. For once, Jeff was extremely grateful for his obscene popularity, something that he did not grow up having.

SmackDown was not a familiar place, nor was it very friendly, so far.

* * *

"Jeff!" Maria screeched as she saw her good friend for the first time since she was drafted to SmackDown. Her debut was held back a few weeks after Jeff's, so she wasn't at the previous taping.

Was this the same Maria that Jeff had hung out with on RAW? It had to be, because no other girl had that radiating innocence without trying. But somehow, she looked different. Maybe it was the length of time since he had seen her that was playing tricks on his eyes. She looked better than ever, at least to him. It's not that he hadn't seen her like _that_ before. Naturally, he snuck a peek or two at her Playboy pictorial. Who hadn't? But even so, there was just something different about her. Jeff caught himself staring at her as she walked up to him with her arms outstretched for a hug.

But that was until Jeff did the gentlemanly thing and actually looked her in the eyes. Her eyes were different. The bubbly light was missing. Something was wrong.

Maria hugged Jeff tightly. "I'm so glad to see you!"

Jeff returned the enthusiastic gesture, picking her up and swinging her around once. "You too, Maria. How have you been?"

Maria quickly lied. "Oh, I'm alright. I'm excited to try out something new. How about you?"

"Same," Jeff shrugged as he lied just as well as she did. "Is something wrong, Maria? You seem…different."

"No, nothing is wrong," Maria said in a cheerful voice. "I'm perfect."

_Yes, Maria, you are_.


	3. Chapter 3

Maria sat in the locker room, crying her eyes out. She missed her old home, even if she thought she hated it at the time. The Divas here were so mean.

Natalya wouldn't even look at Maria. Anyone less than a second generation Diva was scum to her, with the exception of Victoria.

Victoria thought that Maria was a pathetic piece of eye candy with no passion for the wrestling business.

Michelle McCool was too busy sleeping with The Undertaker and trying to keep her Divas Championship snapped around her waist as long as she could.

Maryse didn't notice anyone unless they were in the reflection of the mirror next to her.

The newly drafted Bella Twins were her closest hope for friendship, but they were too busy with each other all the time.

Maria was alone in her world, hating herself more than ever.

* * *

Jeff walked around the arena, trying to make friends with as many new wrestlers as he could find. Some of the guys on the ECW roster were pretty cool, like Evan Bourne and Ricky Ortiz. He could see himself hanging out with those guys after a show.

But then she crossed his path.

"Maria, wait up!" he yelled down the hallway, jogging to catch up with her.

Maria turned around to see her best friend running up to her. She was on her way to the gorilla position, ready for her match against Natalya. "Hey."

"You look cute. Got a match?"

"Yeah, against Nattie."

"Gah," Jeff grimaced. "Be careful. She's tough."

"And she hates me…" Maria frowned.

"She doesn't hate you. How could anyone hate you?" Jeff asked. His best friend was the sweetest girl in the world, and he didn't see how she could dislike herself so much.

"Well, for one, I'm not the best wrestler. Two, I posed naked for a magazine. Three, I dated CM Punk. Four, I don't—"

"Okay," Jeff said, stopping Maria's pity party rant. "You are amazing, Maria. I just wish you could see that."

"Yeah, okay. Sorry to cut this short, but I need to go…"

Jeff sighed as he watched the girl he loved walk away with such low spirits. He needed to fix her.

* * *

Maria was sore and tired after her match. She had lost to Natalya, and the girl took stiff shots. Maria felt every single move that was performed on her.

After she changed back into her street clothes, she examined her ring attire. It was her favorite outfit, a leopard print one piece dress with a long sash over one leg. She frowned when she saw that during the course of her match, a large hole had been ripped in the sash. She had made this outfit herself and it was very dear to her.

It was just another reason to hate SmackDown.

She packed up everything in her travel suitcase and headed for the door, ready to go back to the hotel. With her low level of confidence, she looked at the ground the whole time she was walking, so she easily saw the note that was slipped under the door.

She picked up the folded paper that read _Maria_ on the outside.

"Ugh," she muttered. "Probably a hate letter."

She unfolded it and saw an untidy scrawl belonging to a man.

_Maria,  
__You are beautiful just the way you are. Hold your head up high. I can't see your gorgeous eyes if you're always looking at the ground._

The note made Maria smile for about three nanoseconds.

Then her mind got to her.

This note had to be a fake. Someone was playing a sick, cruel joke on her.

She shredded up the note and put it in the garbage bin near the door before she left to get some sleep.


End file.
